Imaging system and control method for imaging system

ABSTRACT

An imaging system of the present invention comprises a lens unit having a barrel section that contains a photographing optical system, and an operating section provided on the barrel section, and a camera body having an imaging section for converting a subject image formed by the photographing optical system into electrical signals, and a display section for displaying the subject image based on the electrical signals, wherein the lens unit has a transmission section for transmitting information relating to the operation section, and the camera body has a receiving section for receiving information relating to the operating section that has been transmitted from the transmission section, and an association section for displaying the information relating to the operation section that has been received by the receiving section on the display section, and associating information relating to the operating section with functions of the camera body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/670,616 (referred to as “the '616 application” and incorporatedherein by reference), titled “IMAGING SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD FORIMAGING SYSTEM,” filed on Nov. 7, 2012, and listing Masaomi TOMIZAWA andOsamu NONAKA as inventors, the '616 application being based upon andclaiming the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2011-243150 filed in Japan on Nov. 7, 2011, which is hereby incorporatedby reference as if fully set fourth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an imaging system that is capable ofcarrying out association of function of an operation section provided ona lens barrel, at a camera body side, and to a control method for theimaging system.

2. Description of the Related Art

An imaging system has been proposed having an operating ring arranged ona lens barrel housing a photographing lens, and is capable of carryingmanual focus and setting of parameters for control using this operatingring. For example, in the image processing device disclosed in Japanesepatent laid-open No. 2011-114662 (laid open Jun. 9, 2011), setting of aparameter setting corresponding to a photographed scene from amongadjustment parameters for adjusting white balance and brightness etc.using an operating ring provided on a lens barrel is disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has as its object to provide an imaging systemthat is capable of carrying out association of operation membersprovided on the lens barrel with arbitrary functions from the body side,and a control method for the imaging system.

An imaging system of the present invention comprises a lens unit havinga lens barrel section that contains a photographing optical system, andan operating section provided on the lens barrel section, and a camerabody having an imaging section for converting a subject image formed bythe photographing optical system into electrical signals, and a displaysection for displaying the subject image based on the electricalsignals, wherein the lens unit has a transmission section fortransmitting information relating to the operation section, and thecamera body has a receiving section for receiving information relatingto the operating section that has been transmitted from the transmissionsection, and an association section for displaying the informationrelating to the operation section that has been received by thereceiving section on the display section, and associating informationrelating to the operating section with functions of the camera body.

An imaging system of the present invention comprises a lens barrelsection having a photographing optical system and an operating section,an imaging section for converting a subject image formed by thephotographing optical system into electrical signals, an operatingsection provided on the lens barrel section, and an associating sectionprovided on a camera body having the imaging section, for displayinginformation relating to the operating section on a display section, andselecting information relating to the operating section from amongvarious functions.

Also, a control method for the imaging system of the present inventioncomprises an input step for inputting information relating to anoperating section provided on a lens barrel section, a display step ofdisplaying information relating to the operating section and informationrelating to functions of the camera body and/or a lens unit, adetermination step of determining whether or not association ofinformation relating to the functions has been carried out, and anassociating step of carrying out association in accordance with a resultof the termination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are block diagrams mainly showing the electricalstructure of an imaging system of one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D are drawings for describing usage states of the imagingsystem of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing operation of a camera body of the oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operation of an associating operation ofthe camera body of the one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing operation, using a ring, of the camerabody of the one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operation of operation section imagecommunication at a lens side of the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operation of communication at a lens sideof the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are drawings showing signal exchange between thecamera body and the lens of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing one example of synchronization signalsbetween the camera body and the lens in the imaging system of oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are drawings showing a relationship between animage transmitted from the lens side and an image displayed at thecamera body side, in the imaging system of one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a drawing showing a modified example of an operating sectionimage in the imaging system of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are drawings for describing usage states of themodified example of the imaging system of one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13A-FIG. 13C are drawings showing display at the camera body side,for a modified example of the imaging system of the one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14A-FIG. 14D are drawings showing display at the camera body sidein the case where trimming mode has been selected, for a modifiedexample of the imaging system of the one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments using an imaging system, made up of a camera bodyand a lens unit, to which the present invention has been applied will bedescribed in the following in accordance with the drawings. A camera ofone preferred embodiment of the present invention is a digital camera,and has an imaging section, with a subject image being converted toimage data by this imaging section, and the subject image then beingsubjected to live view display on a display section arranged on a rearsurface of a body or in an ocular viewfinder etc. using image data basedon this converted image data. A photographer determines composition andphoto opportunity by looking at the live view display. At the time of arelease operation image data is stored in a storage medium. Also, imagedata that has been stored in the storage medium can be played back anddisplayed on the display section if playback mode is selected.

Also, an operating section capable of rotating around the lens barrel isprovided on the lens unit. If the lens unit is attached to the camerabody, communication takes place between the camera body and the lensunit, and information relating to the operating section is transmittedfrom the lens unit. If the camera body receives information relating tothe operating section, the information relating to the operating sectionis displayed on the display section, so that associating of theinformation relating to the operating section with functions of eitherthe camera body or the interchangeable lens can be carried out on thedisplay section. For example, it is possible for operating sections onthe lens barrel side to be associated with operating sections for manualfocus, to be associated with zooming operating sections, or to beassociated with change operating sections for various modes such asexposure compensation, strobe mode etc.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B is a block diagram showing the structure of animaging system of one embodiment of the present invention, and thesystem comprises a camera body 10, a lens unit 20, and an ocularviewfinder 30. The lens unit 20 is removably attached to the camera body10 by means of a bayonet mount. Also, the ocular viewfinder 30 can beattached to the camera body 10 by means of an adapter etc.

The imaging system of this embodiment is a so-called interchangeablelens camera, in which the camera body 10, lens unit 20, and ocularviewfinder 30 are separately constructed, but it is also possible tohave an integrally formed camera such as a so-called compact camera, orto have a camera where the camera body 10 and the ocular viewfinder 30are integrally formed such as a so-called single lens reflex camera.

A control section 21, communication section 22, ring operating section23 a, lens operating section 23 b, drive sections 24 a, 24 b, positiondetection sections 25 a, 25 b, lens 26 and memory 27 are containedwithin the lens unit 20. This lens unit 20 corresponds to a lens unithaving a barrel section containing a photographing optical system, andan operating section provided on this barrel section.

The control section 21 has a controller such as a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit), and performs control within the lens unit 20 inaccordance with programs stored in the memory 27. Specifically, thecontrol section 21 performs communication with a signal processing andcontrol section 1 within the camera body 10 by means of thecommunication section 22, and transmits various information in responseto requests from the signal processing and control section 1 within thecamera body 10. Also, the control section 21 executes operations such asfocusing of the photographing lens 10 in accordance with instructionsfrom the signals processing and control section 1. In cases such aswhere the ring operating section 23 a has been assigned to zoomingoperations or manual focus operations, zooming operations or manualfocus operations are executed in accordance with operation of the ringoperating section 23 a.

The communication section 22 carries out communication with thecommunication section 11 within the camera body 10. As describedpreviously, when request signals have been received from the camera body10, lens state signals are transmitted in accordance with requestsignals by means of the communication section 22. Details of thiscommunication will be described later using FIG. 8A, FIG. 8B and FIG. 9.The communication section 22 fulfills a function as a transmissionsection for transmitting information relating to operating sections ofthe lens unit 20. This transmission section is also capable oftransmitting information other than operating states relating to theoperating sections to the camera body 10. As information other thanoperating states relating to the operating sections, there is forexample information representing at least one of focus position andfocus length of the photographing lens 26.

The ring operating section 23 a is attached so as to be capable ofrotation around the lens barrel of the lens unit 20, and outputs signalsgenerated in response to rotation to the control section 21. The controlsection 21 detects rotation direction and rotation amount and rotationalspeed etc. based on the pulse signals, and transmits control signals inaccordance with the rotational state or transmits signals representingthe rotational state, to the camera body 10 by means of thecommunication section 22. In one embodiment of the present invention,the ring operating section 23 a does not slide backwards and forwards inthe optical axis direction, but in a modified example of the 1embodiments that will be described later, a slide operation backwardsand forwards in the optical axis direction is possible.

The lens operating section 23 b is an operating section provided on thelens unit 20 besides the ring operating section 23 a, and is, forexample, a push switch for changing mode. Also, in the modified exampleof the one embodiment that will be described later, it is a slideoperation section for causing the ring operating section 23 a to slidein the optical axis direction. The ring operating section 23 a and thelens operating section 23 b fulfill a function as operating sectionsprovided on the barrel section.

The drive sections 24 a, 24 b are drive sections for a zoom controlmechanism 26 a and a focus control mechanism 26 b within thephotographing lens 26. A lens within the photographing lens 26 is drivenbased on control signals from the control section 21. The positiondetection sections 25 a, 25 b have encoders, detect focus position andfocal length (zoom position) of the photographing lens 26, and outputdetection results to the control section 21.

The photographing lens 26 has a photographing optical system made up ofa plurality of optical lenses for forming a subject image, and in thisembodiment the photographing optical system is constituted by a zoomlens optical system. The zoom control mechanism 26 a and the focuscontrol mechanism 26 b are provided within the photographic lens 26, andthe drive sections 24 a, 24 b perform focus position adjustment (focusadjustment) and focal length adjustment (zoom adjustment) for thephotographing lens 26. Also, although not shown in the drawings, anaperture mechanism is also provided, and control of aperture openingdiameter is carried out based on control signals from the controlsection 21.

The memory 27 is constituted by a non-volatile memory such as flashmemory, and as described previously stores programs for control. Thememory 27 also stores an image of the operating section 23 used whencarrying out lens association, which will be described later. This imageis used as an operating section image 6L shown in FIG. 2B, as will bedescribed later. The memory 27 also stores various data such as focallength at the long focus end, focal length at the short focus end,maximum aperture diameter, and optical characteristics for thephotographing lens 26. These items of data are transmitted to the camerabody 10 at the time of attaching the lens unit 20 to the camera body 10,or in response to request signals from the camera body 10.

A signal processing and control section 1, image sensor 2, facedetection section 3, storage section 4, communication section 5, displaysection 6, touch panel 7, operation determination section 8, clock(timer) section 9, and communication section 11 are arranged inside thecamera body 10.

The signal processing and control section 1 performs overall control ofthe control section 1 and the imaging system in accordance with programsstored in a memory, not shown.

A lens operation association section 1 a, a lens operation determinationsection 1 b, a touch position determination section 1 c and a displaycontrol section 1 d are provided within the signal processing andcontrol section 1. The lens operation association section 1 a carriesout processing to associate functions of the ring operating section 23 aof the lens unit 20 side in the camera body 10. The lens operationassociation section 1 a carries out assigning all functions of theoperation sections in accordance with the users intentions, such as, forexample, carrying out a zooming operation, carrying out a manual focusoperation, or carrying out mode processing, in response to a rotationoperation of the ring operating section 23 a. This specific operationwill be described later using FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D.

The lens operation determination section 1 b is input with informationrelating to operation of the ring operating section 23 a of the lensunit 20 by means of the communication section 22 and the communicationsection 11, and determines operating state. For example, the lensoperation determination section 1 b is input with information relatingto rotation direction and rotation amount of the ring operating section23 a, and carries out determination of the operating state. If the ringoperating section 23 a has been associated with mode processing by thelens operation association section 1 a, update of parameters for modeprocessing is carried out in accordance with rotation direction androtation amount of the ring operating section 23 a that have beendetermined by the lens operation determination section 1 b.

The touch position determination section 1 c is input with detectionsignals from the touch panel 7, which will be described later, anddetermines at what position on the screen of the display section 6 theuser has touched. As will be described later using FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D, alens operation association operation carries out setting according tothe touch position by the user on the display section 6.

The display control section 1 d carries out control for display on thedisplay section 6. This display control section 1 d carries out variousdisplay controls, but one of them is display control at the time of alens operation association operation. Specifically, when an imagerepresenting the operating section has been transmitted from the lensunit 20, an icon for previously prepared function, for example, zooming,manual focus, or mode processing, is displayed on the display section 6together with the image of the operating section.

The lens operation association section 1 a, lens operation determinationsection 1 b, touch position determination section 1 c and a displaycontrol section 1 d etc. within the signal processing and controlsection 1 function as an associating section. This associating sectiondisplays information relating to the operating sections within the lensunit 20 that has been received by means of the communication section 11functioning as a receiving section on the display section 6, and itcarries out association of the information relating to the operatingsections and functions of the camera body. Also, the associating sectiondisplays information relating to operating sections within the lens unitand functions of the camera body, detects an association operationcarried out by the user and performs associating based on the detectionresults. The association operation carried out by the user is determinedbased on detection signals from the touch panel 7.

The image sensor 2 is a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD imagesensor or a CMOS image sensor, and is arranged on the optical axis ofthe photographing lens 26 close to a position where a subject image isformed by the photographing lens. This image sensor 2 converts thesubject image to an image signal. This image signal is output to thesignal processing and control section 1 after being A/D converted todigital image data. The previously described photographing lens 26 andthe image sensor 2 fulfill a function as an imaging section forconverting a subject image formed by the photographing optical systeminto an electrical signal.

The face detection section 3 is input with image data of the subjectimage and detects the face of a person etc. It is also possible to focuson a face that has been detected by this face detection section 3. Afocus detection circuit has been omitted from FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, butit is possible to a suitably adopt well-known contrast AF where acontrast signal is obtained from image data and the photographing lens26 is controlled so that this contrast value becomes a peak, orwell-known phase difference AF where a defocus amount is obtained from aphase difference and the photographing lens 26 is controlled.

The storage section 4 is a storage medium such as flash memory, andstores still image data or movie data for storage based on image datafrom the image sensor 2. If playback mode is selected, image data thathas been stored in the storage section 4 is read out, and the storedimage is subjected to playback display on the display section 6.

The communication section 5 performs communication with the ocularviewfinder 30, which will be described later. With this embodiment, asdescribed previously, the ocular viewfinder 30 can be attached to thecamera body 10, and at the time of attachment, or when request signalsare output from the signal processing and control section 1,communication is carried out with the communication section 32 withinthe ocular viewfinder 30.

The display section 6 has a display such as an LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) or organic EL arranged on a rear surface or the like of thecamera body 10. The display section 6 performs live view based on imagedata from the image sensor 2, or displays an image that has been storedin the storage section 4 at the time of playback. Also, at the time ofthe lens operation association, display of icons representing theoperation section (in this embodiment the ring operating section 23 a)and functions of the lens unit 20 is carried out. The display section 6may fulfill a function as a display section for displaying a subjectimage based on an electrical signal from the imaging section.

The touch panel 7 is integrally formed with the front surface of thedisplay section 6 or with the display section 6, and outputs a detectionsignal corresponding to a position on the display section 6 that hasbeen touched by the user to the signal processing and control section 1.The touch panel 7 is capable of carrying out touch input on a screen forvarious camera settings. Also, as will be described later using FIG.2B-FIG. 2D, at the time of lens operation association an image of theoperating section of the lens unit 20 and icons representing functionsare used as input when the user performs association.

The operation determination section 8 determines operating states ofvarious operating members of the camera body 10, such as a power supplybutton, release button, playback button, menu button etc. The signalprocessing and control section 1 executes various control based onoperating states of the operating members determined by the operationdetermination section 8.

The clock (timer) section 9 has a clock function, and acquires time anddate information such as the time of shooting, and fulfills a clockfunction at the time of a control operation by the signal processing andcontrol section 1. The communication section 11 carries outcommunication with the lens unit 20, as was described previously. Thiscommunication section 11 fulfills a function as a receiving section forreceiving information relating to operating section that has beentransmitted from the lens unit.

An eyepiece display section 31 and a communication section 32 arearranged in the ocular viewfinder 30. The communication section 32carries out communication with the communication section 5 at the camerabody 10 side. The eyepiece display section 31 is an electronicviewfinder, and displays an image that has been input by means of thecommunication section 5 and the communication section 32. For examplelive view display is carried out based on image data from the imagesensor 2. The eyepiece display section 31 may also fulfill a function asa display section for displaying a subject image based on an electricalsignal from the imaging section.

Next, lens operation association processing will be described using FIG.2A-FIG. 2D. FIG. 2A shows the appearance of attaching a lens unit 20 andocular viewfinder 30 to the camera body 10, and a user looking throughthe ocular viewfinder 30 while holding the camera. At this time, theuser's right hand is concentrating on operation of the release buttonarranged on an upper surface of the camera body 10, while the left handis concentrating on operating the ring operating section 23 a to carryout the focus while supporting the lens unit 20.

This method of holding the camera shown in FIG. 2A is logical from thepoint of view of determining composition and photo opportunity, but theoperation and adjustment the user wants to carry out is not necessarilyfocusing. With this embodiment therefore, it is possible to associatethe ring operating section 23 a of the lens unit 20 at the camera body10 side so that it can also be used in adjustment of other functions.

Association at the camera body 10 side is carried out by the displaycontrol section 1 d displaying an operating section image 6Lrepresenting the ring operating section 23 a at the lens unit 20 sideand icons 6 i representing functions to be associated with the ringoperating section 23 a (in FIG. 2B there are three icons, namely “zoom”and “MF”, which are lens unit 20 side functions, and “mode” which is acamera body 10 side function) on the display section 6, and the userthen carrying out designation of a function they want to associate withthe operating section 23 a (being displayed by the icons 6 i) on thescreen of the display section 6.

As a method of designating the association on the screen, first the usertouches the operating section icon 6L, and then slides to the iconrepresenting the function they want to associate (“mode” in FIG. 2B)while still touching the screen. At this time, the lens operationassociation section 1 a sets the function of the ring operating section23 a in accordance with the designation based on determination resultsfrom the touch position determination section 1 c. The example shown inFIG. 2B, “mode” is set.

If “mode” has been set as the function of the ring operating section 23a, the display control section 1 d displays modes 6 m that aresubordinate to “mode” on the eyepiece display section 31. When thesubordinate modes 6 m are displayed, if the user peers into the ocularviewfinder 30 a screen as shown in FIG. 2C, namely “exposure”, “strobe”,and “self timer” etc., which are subordinate modes to “mode” isdisplayed. If a subject image can be seen during display of thesubordinate modes it will be confusing, and so at this time live viewdisplay is turned off.

In this state, if the user carries out a rotation operation of the ringoperating section 23 a the lens operation determination section 1 bdetermines operating state, and based on the results of thisdetermination the display control section 1 d causes the selectedsubordinate mode 6 m to sequentially move in the rotation direction.With the example shown in FIG. 2B, the subordinate mode currently beingselected is easily made visible by changing the color, for example, butthis is not limited and it is also possible to identify that an item isbeing selected using a method such as flashing.

As a method of confirming the subordinate mode being selected, in thisembodiment a release button is pressed down. As described previously,since the appearance of a subject image during display of thesubordinate modes is confusing, live view display is turned off, andsince the user is therefore unlikely to operate the release button bymistake in order to take a picture, the release button is used toconfirm the subordinate mode. As well as this method, it is alsopossible, for example, to carry out confirmation by keeping anysubordinate mode selected for a specified time, or by operation ofanother operation member such as the OK button.

On the screen shown in FIG. 2C, if selection of a subordinate mode isconfirmed, switching of a parameter determined depending on thesubordinate mode is carried out next. The example shown in FIG. 2D showsthe appearance when exposure is confirmed as the subordinate mode, andthe display control section 1 d displays a screen for carrying outparameter adjustment for exposure compensation on the eyepiece displaysection 31. If the ring operating section 23 a is rotated in this state,the rotation is detected by the lens operation determination section 1b, and it is possible to display changes in exposure compensation valueon a parameter display 6 p based on the detection results. At the timeof this parameter display for exposure compensation, live view displayis restarted and it is possible to adjust the parameters for exposurecompensation while viewing the appearance of the subject.

If the association of FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D is carried out, the function thathas been associated with the operating section image 6L is transmittedfrom the camera body 10 to the lens unit 20 as an association result. Inthe case where the associated function is a function of the camera body10, the camera body 10 operates based on the set mode and parameters. Inthe case where the associated function is a function of the lens unit20, the lens unit 20 is operated based on the set mode.

Next, operation of the one embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed using the flowcharts shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 7. This operationis executed by the signal processing and control section 1 in accordancewith programs stored in a memory, not shown, arranged in the camera body10.

If the flow for camera control shown in FIG. 3 commences operation, itis first determined whether or not a lens has been changed (S1). Here,it is determined, based on detection results from a lens detectionsection or the like, not shown, whether or not a lens unit 20 has gonefrom a state of not being attached to the camera body 10 to an attachedstate.

If the result of determination in step S1 is that the lens has beenchanged, it is next determined whether or not it is a lens capable ofoperation member change (S3). Depending on the model of theinterchangeable lens that has been fitted, there may be cases where itis not possible to change the function of the operating section such asthe ring operating section 23 a. In this step, therefore, communicationis performed with the lens unit 20, and it is determined whether or notthe lens is capable of operation member change.

If the result of determination in step S3 is that it is a lens capableof having the operation member changed, operation section imagecommunication is next carried out (S5). If the lens unit 20 that hasbeen fitted is capable of operation member change then the operatingsection image 6L representing the operating section is transmitted fromthe lens unit 20 to the camera body 10.

Once communication of the operating section image has been carried outan association operation is carried out (S7). Here, as was describedusing FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D, operation of the ring operations section 23 a isassociated with one of a plurality of functions. Details of thisassociating operation will be described later using FIG. 4.

Once the associating operation of step S7 is completed, or if the resultof determination in step S1 was that there was no lens change, or if theresult of determination in step S3 was that a lens capable of operationmember change has not been fitted, it is next determined whether or notthe mode is exposure (shooting) mode (S9). The camera of this embodimentcan select shooting mode and playback mode, and shooting mode is set asthe default mode.

If the result of determination in step S9 was that it is not shootingmode, it is next determined whether or not playback mode has been set(S13). Playback mode is set if a playback button, for example isoperated, and playback mode is released if the play button is pressedagain. If the result of this determination is that it is not playbackmode, processing returns to previously described step S1.

If the result of determination in step S13 is that it is playback mode,image playback mode is executed (S15). Here, image data stored in thestorage section 4 within the camera body 10 is read out, and playbackdisplay on the display section 6 is carried out. Once image playback hasbeen carried out, processing returns to step S1.

If the result of determination in previously described step S11 is thatit is shooting mode, then next imaging and image display are commenced(S11). Here, a subject image is subjected to photoelectric conversion inthe image sensor 2 to acquire image data, and live view display on thedisplay section 6 is commenced.

Once imaging and image display has started, then communication is nextcarried out (S21). Here, communication of various data and controlsignals is carried out by means of the communication section 11 withinthe camera body 10 and the communication section 22 within the lens unit20. For example, various data such as focal length at the long focusend, focal length at the short focus end, maximum aperture diameter,optical characteristics etc. of the photographic lens 26, and anoperation section image 6L of the operation section 23 used whencarrying out lens association, are communicated. Details of the lenscommunication will be described later using FIG. 9.

Once lens communication has been carried out it is next determinedwhether or not there has been a ring operation (S23). Here, the lensoperation determination section 1 b carries out determination based on asignal representing operating state of the ring operating section 23 athat has been input by means of the communication sections 11 and 22.

If the result of determination in step S23 is that there has been a ringoperation, it is next determined whether or not processing at the cameraside is required (S25). Among the functions that have been associatedwith the ring operating section 23 a in step S7, there are functionsprocessed at the lens unit 20 side, such as zooming or manual focus, orthere are functions processed at the camera body 10, such as modeprocessing. In this step it is determined whether or not a function thathas been associated is processed at the camera body 10 side.

If the result of determination in step S25 is that there is processingat the camera side, a camera operation using the ring is next carriedout (S27). Here, as was described using FIG. 2C and FIG. 2D, setting ofa subordinate mode and parameter adjustment etc. are carried out inaccordance with the rotation operation of the ring operating section 23a. Detailed operation for a camera operation using this ring will bedescribed later using FIG. 5.

Once the camera operation using the ring has been carried out in stepS27, or if the result of determination in step S23 was that there hasbeen no ring operation, or if the result of determination in step S25was that processing for an associated function is not carried out at thecamera side, it is next determined whether or not to take a picture(S29). Once the user has viewed a subject image displayed on the ocularviewfinder 30 or the display section 6 and determined composition etc.the release button is pressed down fully. Determination in this step iscarried out based on whether or not the release button has been presseddown fully.

If the result of determination in step S29 is that a picture is to betaken, shooting and storage are carried out (S31). Here, after imagedata from the image sensor 2 has been subjected to image processing bythe image processing and control section 1, image data is stored in thestorage section 4. Once the shooting and storage have been carried out,processing returns to step S1.

If the result of determination in step S29 is that a photograph is notto be taken, it is determined whether or not there has been a functionchange operation (S33). If an operating member of the camera body 10,for example a help button etc., is operated, or if a function changeoperation is carried out on a menu screen or the like, a function changefor the ring operating section 23 a is carried out. In this step it istherefore determined whether or not these function change operationshave been performed. If the result of this determination is that therehas not been a function change operation, processing returns to step S1.

If the result of determination in step S33 is that a function changeoperation was performed, a function change request is next carried outto the lens (S35). Here, the function change request is transmitted bymeans of communication with the lens unit 20. After this processingadvances to step S3, and in previously described steps S3-S7 associationof the ring operating section 23 a and the function is carried out.

In this way, in the camera control flow, at the time of changing a lensor when a function change operation has been performed, one functionfrom among the plurality of functions is selected and associated withthe ring operating section 23 a of the lens unit 20 (S1-S7, S33, S35).Also, when an associated function carries out processing at the camerabody 10 side, the camera body 10 executes processing in accordance withoperation of the ring operating section 23 a.

Next, detailed operation of the associating operation in step S7 will bedescribed using FIG. 4. If the associating operation flow is entered, itis first determined whether or not an image has been received (S41). Asdescribed previously, since operation section image communication iscarried out in step S5, in this step it is determined whether or notthis operation section image has been received. Depending on the lensunit 20, there may be cases where it does not have an associatedfunction, and the operation section image is not transmitted. In thisstep in this receipt is therefore confirmed.

If the result of determination in step S41 is that the image has beenreceived, lens image display is carried out (S43) and the icon isdetermined in accordance with the lens and displayed (S45). Here, as wasdescribed using FIG. 2B, an operating section image 6L and icons 6 i aredisplayed on the display section 6. The operation section image 6L isthe image that was transmitted from the lens unit 20, and the icons 6 iare determined depending on the functions of the camera body 10 and thelens unit 20. Details of the display method for the operation sectionimage 6L and the icons 6 i will be described later using FIG. 10A andFIG. 10B. The icons 6 i are displayed in a uniform manner, and it isalso possible to make functions that cannot be executed, depending onthe function of the camera body 10 and the lens unit 20, unselectable.

Next, it is determined whether or not a slide has been detected (S47).As has been described using FIG. 2B, in the case where the user hasassociated a function with the ring operating section 23 a, aftertouching the operating image 6L a slide operation is carried out to theicon 6 i they wish to associate. In this step the touch positiondetermination section 1 c determines whether or not there has been aslide operation based on a detection signal from the touch panel 7.

If the result of determination in step S47 is that there is no slidedetection, it is determined whether or not a specified time has elapsed(S57), and if the specified time has not elapsed processing returns tostep S47. Here, a standby state is entered during the time taken for theuser to perform the slide operation.

If the result of determination in step S47 is that there is slidedetection, it is next determined whether the slide stop point orendpoint is the operating section image (S49). Here, the touch positiondetermination section 1 c detects the position of the slide start pointor the slide end point, and it is determined whether or not thisposition is on or in the vicinity of the operation section image 6L.

If the result of determination in step S49 is that the slide stop pointor endpoint is the operating section image, it is next determinedwhether the slide start point or endpoint is an icon part (S51). Here,the touch position determination section 1 c detects the position of theslide start point or the slide end point, and it is determined whetherthis position is one of the plurality of icons 6 i, or in the vicinitythereof.

If the result of determination in step S51 is that the slide start pointand end point are at an icon portion, next the operation section and anicon function are associated. Here, the ring operating section 23 acorresponding to the operation section image 6L is associated with afunction corresponding to the icon 6 i at the slide point. With theexample shown in FIG. 2B, the function of the ring operating section 23a is associated with mode setting.

Once the association has been carried out in step S53, associationinformation is next transmitted (S55). Here, the result of theassociation that was carried out in step S53 is transmitted from thecamera body 10 to the lens unit 20 side by means of the communicationsection 11. In the case where “mode” has been set as an association, thelens unit 20 side transmits only operating state of the ring operatingsection 23 a to the camera body 10. However, in the case where zoom ormanual focus has been set, the control section 21 of the lens unit 20executes zooming or manual focus in accordance with the operating stateof the ring operating section 23 a.

Next, if the result of determination in step S57 is that the specifiedtime has elapsed, or if the result of determination in step S49 is thatthe slide start point and end point are not at an operation sectionimage, or if the result. of determination in step S51 is that the slidestart point and end point are not at an icon portion, it is nextdetermined whether or not an association has already been performed. Itis determined whether or not an association was already performed instep S53.

If the result of determination in step S59 is that an association hasalready been performed, the previous association is maintained (S61). Onthe other hand, if the result of determination in step S59 is that anassociation has not yet been performed, or if the result ofdetermination in step S41 is that an image has not been received, adefault association is carried out (S63). It is possible to determinesuitable design values as a default.

Once the default association has been carried out in step S63, or if theprevious association has been maintained in step S61, or if transmissionof the association information has been carried out in step S55, theoriginal flow is returned to.

In this manner, with the associating operation, as was describedpreviously using FIG. 2, one function from among the plurality offunction represented by the icons 6 i is selected in accordance with theuser's slide operation, and associated with the ring operating section23 a.

Next, camera operation using the ring in step S27 (refer to FIG. 3) willbe described using FIG. 5. With this camera operation using the ring, asdescribed previously, in the case where the function that has beenassociated is processed in the camera body 10, setting of a subordinatemode and parameter adjustment etc. is carried out in accordance with therotation operation of the ring operating section 23 a.

If the flow for camera operation using the ring is entered, it is firstdetermined whether or not there has been ring operation (S71). Here, thelens operation determination section 1 b carries out determination basedon a signal representing operating state of the ring operating section23 a that has been input by means of the communication sections 11 and22.

If the result of determination in step S71 is that there has been a ringoperation, it is determined whether or not it is a body function (S73).Here, it is determined whether or not the function of the ring operatingsection 23 a that was associated in step S53 is a camera body 10 sidefunction.

If the result of determination in step S73 is that it is a bodyfunction, it is next determined whether or not there is mode switching(S75). If there is mode switching, as was described using FIG. 2, sincesubordinate mode setting is carried out, in this step it is determinedwhether or not there is mode switching of the function that has beenassociated.

If the result of determination in step S75 is that there is modeswitching, then next mode display is carried out together with removinga taken image (S77). Here, as shown in FIG. 2C, “strobe”, “exposure” and“self” are displayed on the eyepiece display section 31, and based onimage data from the image sensor 2 live view display is turned off.

Next, rotation amount determination is carried out (S79). Here, the lensoperation determination section 1 b determines rotation direction androtation amount of the ring operating section 23 a based on signals fromthe lens unit 20.

Once rotation amount determination has been carried out, correspondingmode switching is carried out (S81). Here, corresponding mode switchingis carried out in accordance with rotation direction and rotation amountof the ring operating section 23 a that were determined in step S79. Inthe example shown in FIG. 2C, if the ring operating section 23 a isrotated in a clockwise direction the corresponding mode is switchedsequentially in the order “strobe”→“exposure”→“self”→“return”→“strobe”.“return” is an icon for completing subordinate mode setting.

Once corresponding mode switching has been carried out, it is nextdetermined whether or not a determined operation has been carried out(S83). As was described previously, with this embodiment a determinationoperation of a subordinate mode is carried out using operation of therelease button, and so in this step determination is based on theoperating state of the release button.

If the result of determination in step S83 is that there has been adetermination operation, it is next determined whether or not there is asubordinate mode (S85). If exposure has been selected as the subordinatemode in step S83, there is no subordinate mode. However depending on theselected subordinate mode, there may be further subordinate modes. It istherefore determined in this step whether or not there is a furthersubordinate mode. As subordinate modes, for example, a zoom operationhas optical zoom or electronic zoom, and focus has course adjustment andfine adjustment. For mode selection also, subordinate to an art filtermode, what image processing is selected, and to what extent theprocessing is performed and whether or not there is blending etc. canalso be considered. Further, in a case such as where strobe mode hasbeen selected from a menu, there is switching of flash OFF, assistflash, self-timer duration etc. At the time of multi-recording, it isalso possible to make setting of a number of sub-images etc. possible ina subordinate mode.

If the result of determination in step S85 is that there are furthersubordinate modes, the subordinate modes are displayed and modeswitching continues (S87). On the other hand, if the result ofdetermination is that there are no further subordinate modes, the modeis determined, and display of a taken image is recommenced (S89). Here,together with determining the mode, live view display is recommencedbased on image data from the image sensor 2.

If the result of determination in step S75 is that there is no modeswitching, parameter numerical value display is carried out (S91). Here,it is a case where there is no further mode switching, for instance, acase where “exposure”, which is a subordinate mode to mode switching,has been determined, as shown in FIG. 2D. In this case, in steps S91-S95parameter adjustment is carried out in accordance with a rotationoperation of the ring operating section 23 a. In this step S91, displayof parameter numerical values for carrying out parameter adjustment aredisplayed. Also, at this time, since live view display is beingperformed, it is possible for the user to carry out parameter adjustmentwhile looking at the subject.

Once parameter numerical value display has been carried out, next,similar to step S79, rotation amount determination is carried out (S93).Here, the lens operation determination section 1 b determines rotationdirection and rotation amount of the ring operating section 23 a basedon signals from the lens unit 20. Once rotation amount determination hasbeen carried out, switching of corresponding parameters is next carriedout (S95). Here, switching of parameter numerical values is carried outin accordance with rotation amount that was determined in step S93.

Once the corresponding parameter switching of step S95 has been carriedout, or if the result of determination in step S71 is that a ringoperation has not been performed, or if the result of determination instep S73 is that it is not a body function, or if the result ofdetermination in step S83 is that a determination operation has not beencarried out, or if mode switching continuation has been carried out instep S87, or if live view display has been recommenced in step S89, theoriginal processing flow is returned to.

In this way, with the flow for camera operation using the ring,switching of modes and switching of parameter numerical values iscarried out in accordance with the ring operation.

Next, processing at the lens unit 20 side will be described using theflowcharts shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. These processing flows areexecuted by the control section 21 within the lens unit 20 in accordancewith programs that have been stored in the memory 27.

Operating section image communication at the lens side will be describedusing FIG. 6. This operating image communication is processing flowexecuted by the control section 21 of the lens unit 20 in step S5 (referto FIG. 3) at times such as when a transmission request for an operatingsection image has been transmitted from the camera body 10 side.

If the flow for lens side operating section image communication isentered, it is first determined whether or not a lens has been changedor if there is a change request (S101). Here it is determined whether ornot the lens unit 20 has been attached to the camera body 10, or whetheror not a request to transmit an operating section image has beenreceived from the camera body 10 (refer to step S35 (FIG. 3)).

If the result of determination in step S101 is that there is a lenschange or change request, it is next determined whether or notcommunication is possible (S103). Here, it is determined whether or notcommunication is possible with the camera body 10 by means of thecommunication sections 22 and 11.

If the result of determination in step S103 is that communication ispossible, transmission of an operation section image is next carried out(S105). Here, an image of the ring operating section 23 a stored in thememory 27 (corresponding to the operation section image 6L) istransmitted to the camera body 10.

Once the operations section image has been transmitted, is nextdetermined whether or not association information has been received(S107). If the operating section and icon function are associated, thensince association information is transmitted in step S55 (refer to FIG.4), in this step it is determined whether or not this information hasbeen received.

If the result of determination in step S107 is that associationinformation has been received, operation section determination is nextcarried out from the association information (S109) and the operationsection and the function are associated (S111). Here, association of thefunction that was designated by the user in step S53 (refer to FIG. 4)with the designated operation section (with this embodiment, the ringoperating section 23 a) is carried out from the received associationinformation. In this way it is made possible, for example, to assignzooming and manual focus etc. as functions of the rings operatingsection 23 a.

If association of the operation section and the function has beencarried out in step S111, or if the result of determination in step S101is that there was no lens change or update request, or if the result ofdetermination in step S103 is that communication is not possible, or ifthe result of determination in step S107 is that association informationwas not received, the lens side operation section image communication isterminated and the original main flow is returned to.

In this way, with the flow for lens side operation section imagecommunication, if an operation section image is transmitted andassociation information is received, association of a function with theoperation section is carried out.

Next, the lens side communication will be described using the flowchartshown in FIG. 7. If the lens communication flow is entered, lens stateis first determined (S121). Here, various lens states, such as lensposition, aperture opening, rotational state of the ring operatingsection 23 a etc. within the lens unit 20 are determined by the positiondetection sections 25 a, 25 b, ring operating section 23 a, lensoperating section 23 b etc.

Once lens state has been determined, it is next determined whether ornot there has been a lens control operation (S123). Here, it isdetermined whether or not there has been an operation to control thelens unit 20 by rotation of the ring operating section 23 a, such aszooming or manual focus. In the event that, according to the associationinformation, the ring operating section 23 a is set to zooming or manualfocus, the determination result becomes yes. If the result ofdetermination in step S123 is that there is a lens control operation,lens control is carried out (S125). Here, an operation is carried out inaccordance with the operating state of the ring operating section 23 a.

Once lens control has been carried out in step S125, or if the result ofdetermination in step S123 is that there was no lens control operation,it is next determined whether or not there is communication (S127).Since communication is carried out at the camera body 10 in step S21(refer to FIG. 3), communication is also carried out at the lens unit 20side in response to the communication request at this time.

If the result of determination in step S127 is that there iscommunication, lens state communication is carried out next (S129).Here, state of the lens unit 20 is transmitted in response to therequest from the camera body 10. Once lens state communication has beencarried out, lens control is carried out (S131). Here, in the case wherean instruction related to lens control has been issued from the camerabody 10 side by lens communication, control is carried out in accordancewith the instruction. For example, in the case where an AF controlinstruction has been issued from the camera body 10, control such asfocusing is carried out in accordance with the AF control instruction.

Once the lens control in step S131 has been carried out, or if theresult of determination in step S127 is that communication is notcarried out, the lens communication flow is terminated and the originalmain flow is returned to.

In this manner, with the lens communication, control is carried out inaccordance with lens state, and if control signals are received from thecamera body 10 control is carried out in accordance with the controlsignals.

Next, exchange of signals between the camera body 10 and the lens unit20 will be described using FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. FIG. 8A shows exchangeof signals when a function is associated with the operating section.First, at time T1, if fitting of the lens unit 20 or a function changerequest are carried out at the camera body 10 (S1 in FIG. 3), at time T2the lens unit 20 transmits an operating section image (lens image)(refer to S105 in FIG. 6). Once the camera body 10 has received theoperating section image, the operating section image is displayed attime T3 (refer to S43 in FIG. 4).

Also, if the user performs the association operation as was described inFIG. 2A-FIG. 2D, first of all a touch signal 1, for a touch start point,is transmitted from the camera body 10 to the lens unit 20 at time T4,and a touch signal 2 for a touch end point is transmitted from thecamera body 10 to the lens unit 20 at time T5. Here, transmission of thetouch signals 1 and 2 to the lens unit 20 is in order to notify thatthere has been an association operation from the camera body 10 side tothe lens unit 20 side. As a result, an operation in progress signal istransmitted to the lens unit 20 side control section 21, and it becomespossible to prevent unforeseen control etc. with the lens unit 20. It isan important signal from the point of view of preventing errors duringoperation.

At time T6 association of an operation member and a function isperformed, and association information is transmitted to the lens unit20 (S53 and S55 of FIG. 4, and S109 and S11 of FIG. 6).

With this embodiment, slide determination is carried out at the camerabody 10 side, but it is also possible to carry out determination at thelens unit 20 side. In this case, since information on slide start pointand end point are required information on the position where touch wasstarted and the position where touch was ended are transmitted one at atime. However, this is not limiting, and it is also possible tosequentially transmit point information such as that representing aslide locus. In these cases, it is preferable to have a configurationwhere start point and endpoint are determined from this locus at thelens unit 20.

FIG. 8B shows signal exchange at the time of lens operation. At time T11the camera body 10 performs a communication request to the lens unit 20(refer to S21 in FIG. 3). At time T12 the lens unit 20 carries out lensstate communication for the communication request (refer to S129 in FIG.7), and at time T13 the camera body 10 carries out switching in theevent that there is a corresponding function (refer to S27 in FIG. 3).The same operations are repeated for time T14-T16 and time T17-T19.

Next, details of synchronous communication that is carried out betweenthe camera body 10 and the lens unit 20 in step S21 (refer to FIG. 3)will be described using the timing chart shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, thehorizontal axis represents the flow of time, while the vertical axisrepresents respective processing content and timing. In the camera bodyprocessing, in process B1 display of a live view image, and calculationof an AF evaluation value, are carried out using image data that wasacquired in the previous frame. Also, in process B2 AF calculations andvarious setting changes etc. are carried out based on lens state datathat was acquired from lens state communication.

A vertical synchronization signal is a signal that is output incorrespondence with each frame. With imaging and readout, a subjectimage is formed on the image sensor 2, and image data of this formedimage is read out. The imaging and readout have a rhombus shape in FIG.9, which is because in this embodiment, at the time of acquiring a liveview image a rolling shutter is adopted, and imaging and readout. arecarried out sequentially every pixel line.

With the communication BL of the lens communication, a lens state datarequest command is transmitted from the camera body 10 to the lens unit20, and this command requests transmission of data representing the lensstate of the lens unit 20 to the camera body 10. Also in thecommunication LB, the lens unit 20 transmits data representing the lensstate to the camera body 10 in response to the lens state data requestcommand.

A lens communication synchronization signal is generated in response toa vertical synchronization signal in the camera body 10, and this lenscommunication synchronization signal is output to the lens unit 20 froma synchronization signal terminal of the communication section 11 of thecamera body 10. A lens position acquisition signal changes state at apredetermined time, for example, with the example shown in FIG. 9, at atime point after a time point substantially at the central point time ofa charge accumulation time of the image sensor 2.

Also, processing L1 within the lens unit 20 is processing to acquireposition information of the focusing lens within the photographing lens26 at a time where the lens position acquisition signal changes state,and detect operating state of the ring operating section 23 a at a timewhen the lens communication synchronization signal is received. Also,processing L2 is processing to transmit position information of thefocusing lens and lens state data such as operating state of the ringoperating section 23 a, in response to a lens state data request commandthat has been received from the camera body 10.

As shown in the timing chart of FIG. 9, with the synchronouscommunication of this embodiment, processing B1 within the camera body10 is executed in synchronization with the vertical synchronizationsignal, and a lens communication synchronization signal is transmittedto the lens unit 20 in synchronization with the vertical synchronizationsignal.

Once processing B1 within the camera body 10 has been processed, a lensstate data request command is transmitted to the lens unit 20 bycommunication BL. Once the lens unit 20 has received the lens state datarequest command, the lens state is detected and lens state data istransmitted by communication LB. The camera body 10 receives the lensstate data and then executes processing B2.

Also, within the lens unit 20, processing L1 for acquiring lens positionacquired by the position detection sections 25 a, 25 b is executed insynchronization with a lens position acquisition signal. This lensposition acquisition signal is generated at a predetermined time, andwith the example shown in FIG. 9 at a time point after half of a chargeaccumulation time has elapsed at the screen center of the image sensor2. The lens unit 20 acquires position information of the focusing lens25 a, using the position detection section 25 b for detecting positionof the photographing lens at the time of state change of the lensposition acquisition signal. These synchronous communications are allexecuted in synchronization with the lens communication synchronizationsignal.

Next, a display method for the operation section image 6L will bedescribed using FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B. FIG. 10A shows image datacoordinates for the operation section image 6L. As shown in FIG. 10A,coordinates for the lower left corner of the operating section image aremade (0,0), coordinates of the upper right corner are made (XL, YL),coordinates of a lower corner of a line segment that divides the imageinto 2 equal parts are made (XL/2, 0), and coordinates of an uppercorner of this line segment are made (XL/2, YL). Image data of theoperation section image 6L is stored in the memory 27 together withthese coordinates.

If image data of this operation section image 6L is transmitted from thelens unit 20 to the camera body 10, it is displayed from coordinates(X0, Y0) to (X1, Y1) on a display panel of the display section 6, asshown in FIG. 10B. Control of this display position is carried out bythe display control section 1 d within the signal processing and controlsection 1.

The coordinates of the operation section image 6L are stored from (XL/2,0) to (XL/2, YL) of the memory 27 within the lens unit 20. If thiscoordinate information is required by the display control section 1 d atthe camera body 10 side, and the fact that positions from (XL+(X1+X0)/2,Y0) to (X0+(X1+X0)/2, Y1) has been touched is detected by the touchposition detection section 1 c, it is determined that the user hastouched the operation section image 6L.

Also, display control for the icons 6 i is carried out by the displaycontrol section 1 d of the camera body 10, and which one of theplurality of icons has been touched is determined by the touch positiondetermination section 1 c. With this embodiment, the camera body 10 sidedisplay control section 1 d carries out display control, but this is notlimiting, and it is also possible for part or all of the display controlto be carried out by the control section 21 within the lens unit 20.

Next, a modified example of the operation section image will bedescribed using FIG. 11. In the one embodiment of the present invention,a display of the operating section was carried out using an image(operation section image 6L). However, this is not limiting, and displaycan also be performed using characters or symbols etc. For example, asshown in FIG. 11, a lens ring 6La and the lens switch 6Lb can also bedisplayed. With this modified example, as well as a lens ringcorresponding to the ring operating section 23 a, a lens switchcorresponding to the lens operating section 23 b can also be associated.

Next, a modified example of the operating section will be describedusing FIG. 12 to FIG. 14. With this modified example of the operatingsection, besides the ring operating section 23 a it is also possible tocarry out association using the lens operating section 23 b. As shown inFIG. 12A an FIG. 12B, the ring operating section 23 a is rotatablearound the barrel of the lens unit 20, and slides back and forth alongthe optical axis direction. Specifically, in FIG. 12A the ring operatingsection 23 a is at position A which is towards the front in the opticalaxis direction, and in FIG. 12B is at position the which is towards therear in the optical axis direction. The lens operating section 23 b hasa slide mechanism that slides to position A or to position B, and slidepositions A and B are detected by a switch, not shown.

FIG. 13A-FIG. 13C show display of the modified example of the operatingsection in the display section 6. FIG. 13A is a state where an image ofthe operating section and icons are displayed, insteps S43 and S45. InFIG. 13A, the operation section image 6L shows that the ring operatingsection 23 a is capable of moving to position A and position B, and theicons 6 i indicate functions that are capable of being associated.

In the display state of FIG. 13A, if the user touches “A⇄B” and “mode”,it is possible to set a function where mode is changed by sliding thering operating section 23 a back and forth, as shown in FIG. 13B.Further, since the ring operating section 23 a is slid back and forth,the set mode changes sequentially in the order “trimming”, “exposure”,“AF”, as shown in FIG. 13C. With the example shown in FIG. 13C,“trimming” is being selected.

FIG. 14 shows a trimming method in the case where trimming has been setin FIG. 13C. If the ring operating section 23 a is at position A, thenas shown in FIG. 14A, an operation section display 31 a and a frame 31 bshowing the range of an optical zoom are displayed superimposed onliveview display. If the ring operating section 23 a is slid in theoptical axis direction towards position B while in this state, the modeswitches to trimming mode.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 14B, the frame 31 b is displayed with aface position detected by the face detection section 3 as a center.Since “expand/contract” is displayed to the side of the operationsection display 31 a, the user can understand that it is possible toexpand or contract by trimming, using a rotation operation of the ringoperating section 23 a.

After returning to the state of FIG. 14A, if the ring operating section23 a is slid (shifted) in the optical axis direction towards position B,it is possible to change the trimming position in the sidewaysdirection. Specifically, since “move sideways” is displayed to the sideof the operation section display 31 a, the user can understand that thetrimming position is moved sideways using a rotation operation of thering operating section 23 a.

After returning to the state of FIG. 14A, if the ring operating section23 a is slid (shifted) in the optical axis direction towards position B,it is possible to change the trimming position in the verticaldirection. Specifically, since “move vertically” is displayed to theside of the operation section display 31 a, the user can understand thatthe trimming position is moved vertically using a rotation operation ofthe ring operating section 23 a.

In this manner, with the modified example of the operation section, aplurality of operating sections (the ring operating section 23 a and thelens operating section 23 b) are respectively associated with functions.Assigning functions to the plurality of operating sections results in anumber of combinations of operating section and function, and functionrich assignment is made possible in variations. Also, if the associationsection associates the ring operation section with a function of thecamera body, mode switching or parameter switching are carried out inaccordance with rotation amount of the ring operation section.

With this modified example, description has been given using an examplewith the ring operating section 23 a and a slide operation for the lensoperating section 23 b, but this is not limiting and it is also possibleto provide a switch or the like, to enable myriad combinations.

Also, with this modified example, it is only necessary to carry outassociation for each operation section, in the flow charts shown in FIG.3 to FIG. 7.

As has been described above, with the one embodiment and modifiedexample of the present invention, information relating to operation of aring operation member 26 a etc. within the lens unit 20 is displayed onthe display section 6, and information relating to the operating sectionis associated by being selected from among various functions. As aresult, it is possible to enable association of an operating sectionprovided of a barrel with an arbitrary function from the body side.Also, as shown with the one embodiment and modified example of thepresent invention, if a rear display panel that is easy to see andoperate at the time of shooting is adopted, there will not besignificant variation in the holding state at the time of shooting.Also, it is made possible to give undivided attention to shooting byenabling various settings swiftly without unnecessary operations at thetime of shooting, which also prevents a photo opportunity being missed,and without the need to confirm the camera from various angle in orderto locate an operation section. The effect of preventing hand shake canalso be expected.

With the one example of the present. invention and the modified examplethereof, the user's association operation at the time of carrying outassociation was carried out based on detection signals from the touchpanel 7. However, the user operation when associating informationrelating to an operating section with a function of the camera body orthe lens unit is not limited to one on the display panel, and it is alsopossible to carry out detection using another operation member, such asa cross-shaped button.

Also, with the one embodiment of the present invention and the modifiedexample thereof, mode switching and parameter adjustment at the time ofcarrying out association were carried out using a rotation operation ofthe ring operating section 23 a. However, this is not limiting, and itis also possible to perform switching and adjustment using an operatingmember at the camera body 10 side.

Further, with the one embodiment of the present invention and themodified example thereof, as functions to be subjected to association,there are both functions of the lens unit 20 and functions of the camerabody 10, but it is possible to only have functions of one or the other.

With the one embodiment of the present invention and the modifiedexample thereof, as a display section for when carrying out association,either the display section 6 arranged on the rear surface or the like ofthe camera body 10 of the eyepiece display section 31 within the ocularviewfinder 30 are used. However, selection of the display section can besuitably changed, and it is possible to use only one of them. Also, thedisplay section also serves as a display panel for live view display,but it is also possible to provide a dedicated display section, or tohave a configuration where the display section is combined with anotherdisplay section.

With the one embodiment of the present invention and the modifiedexample thereof, the lens unit is an interchangeable lens, but it isalso possible to have a lens unit that is integrated with the camerabody.

Also, with the one embodiment of the present invention and the modifiedexample thereof, a digital camera has been described as a device fortaking pictures, but as a camera it is possible to have a digital singlelens reflex camera, a compact digital camera, or a movie camera etc.

Also, regarding the operation flow in the patent claims, thespecification and the drawings, for the sake of convenience descriptionhas been given using words representing sequence, such as “first” and“next”, but this does not mean that implementation must be in thisorder.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments,and structural elements may be modified in actual implementation withinthe scope of the gist of the embodiments. It is also possible formvarious inventions by suitably combining the plurality structuralelements disclosed in the above described embodiments. For example, itis possible to omit some of the structural elements shown in theembodiments. It is also possible to suitably combine structural elementsfrom different embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An imaging system, comprising: a) a lens unithaving a barrel section including i) a photographing optical system, ii)an operating section provided on the barrel section, and iii) atransmission section for transmitting information relating to theoperation section, wherein the information relating to the operatingsection includes operating section image data representing the operatingsection; and b) a camera body including i) an imaging section forconverting a subject image formed by the photographing optical systeminto electrical signals, ii) a receiving section for receiving theinformation relating to the operating section that has been transmittedfrom the transmission section, and iii) an association section for (1)causing the information relating to the operation section that has beenreceived by the receiving section to be displayed on a display, and (2)associating information relating to the operating section with functionsof the camera body.
 2. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein theassociation section (1) causes information relating to the operatingsection and a function of the camera body to be displayed on thedisplay, and (2) receives a user input command associating the operatingsection with a function of the camera body, and wherein the act ofassociating information relating to the operation section with functionsof the camera body is performed based on the received user inputcommand.
 3. The imaging system of claim 2, wherein the received userinput command is based on a detection signal sourced from the touchpanel.
 4. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein the association sectionassociates information relating to the operating section with either afunction of the camera body or a function of the lens unit.
 5. Theimaging system of claim 1, wherein the functions of the camera bodyinclude mode switching and parameter switching.
 6. The imaging system ofclaim 5, wherein in the case where mode switching has been selected, theassociation section causes the display to (1) stop display of a subjectimage, and (2) perform display of the subject image at the time ofcarrying out parameter switching.
 7. The imaging system of claim 1,wherein the camera body transmits a result of association by theassociation section to the lens unit.
 8. The imaging system of claim 1,wherein the operating section is a ring operating section capable ofrotating around the barrel section, and wherein if the associationsection associates the ring operation section with a function of thecamera body, mode switching and/or parameter switching are carried outin accordance with rotation of the ring operation section.
 9. Theimaging system of claim 1, wherein the lens unit has a plurality ofoperating sections, and transmits information relating to the pluralityof operating sections via the transmission section.
 10. The imagingsystem of claim 1, wherein the transmission section included in the lensunit is capable of transmitting information other than operating staterelating to the operating section provided in the lens unit to thecamera body.
 11. The imaging system of claim 1, wherein the transmissionsection included in the lens unit is capable of transmitting informationrepresenting focus position and/or focal length of the photographinglens within the lens unit.
 12. An imaging system, comprising: a) a lensunit having a barrel section including i) a photographing opticalsystem, ii) an operating section provided on the barrel section, andiii) a transmission section for transmitting information relating to theoperation section, wherein the information relating to the operatingsection includes operating section image data representing the operatingsection; and b) a receiving section for receiving the informationrelating to the operating section that has been transmitted from thetransmission section; and c) an association section for (1) causing theinformation relating to the operation section that has been received bythe receiving section to be displayed on a display, and (2) associatinginformation relating to the operating section with functions of theimaging system.
 13. An imaging system, comprising: a) a lens unit havinga barrel section including i) a photographing optical system, ii) anoperating section provided on the barrel section, and iii) atransmission section for transmitting information relating to theoperation section, wherein the information relating to the operatingsection includes operating section image data representing the operatingsection; b) a receiving section for receiving the information relatingto the operating section that has been transmitted from the transmissionsection; c) a display; and d) an association section for (1) causing theinformation relating to the operation section that has been received bythe receiving section to be displayed on the display, and (2)associating information relating to the operating section with functionsof the imaging system.